Please Don't Go
by SammiiTee
Summary: When the final battle sees the defeat of Zeref, Natsu starts to disappear. How will Lucy react? NALU ONE SHOT


AN: Hey guys, here is a little NALU one shot. It was a little idea that I quickly typed up in a few hours and it's also my first fic in a while so please be nice LOL.

* * *

The pink-haired dragon slayer loomed over the man who claimed to be his brother; the monster who dared to believe that he was family.

" _I_ am not the monster," Natsu growled as he leaned down and grabbed Zeref's collar. Although angry, his voice was filled with desperation; as if he were trying to convince himself that that was true. Zeref met his gaze and smirked, knowing full well that no matter what Natsu claimed or tried to believe, it would not change the fact of the matter.

Natsu was his most powerful creation.

"You can deny it all you want, brother-"

"Don't," Natsu interrupted, his grip tightening, "call be brother. You are not my family," his breath was ragged, his body bruised and bloodied from battle. The boy's attack had used up a lot of his magical power and Natsu could sense himself weakening - the raging heat that usually burned within him had begun to grow cold as his muscles gave way. He needed to finish this now; he had to put an end to Zeref's reign of terror.

The dragon slayer clenched his right fist and closed his eyes, mustering all of his remaining magic to create a burning flame.

Zeref shifted and forcibly grabbed Natsu's arm with both hands. "Simply stating that you are not a demon does not make you human. Igneel may have raised you but I _created_ you. You were _dead_. Without me, you would not be here."

Natsu felt a sharp pang within his chest at the mention of those words; that small reaction resulting in his grip weakening. Sensing this, Zeref shoved him away and stood up, raising his arms. A wave of darkness suddenly encased him; his eyes burning a bloody crimson. The dark wizard stepped forward, "You leave me no choice, I will awaken END by force."

Natsu made a move to fight but a sudden churning from within stopped him; a pain that surged throughout his body. It was as if a flame of darkness had washed over, gripping him to the very core. His insides were _burning;_ a wave of excruciating heat that absorbed him.

Natsu had never been phased by the heat.

This time however, he screamed in agony.

Lucy, with Happy in tow, had just made it to the scene. They had been busy taking an injured Gray to safety after he had failed to defeat Zeref. The Ice Mage was too weak; his earlier injuries rendering him unable to fight at his strongest, which proved to be near fatal. Natsu had luckily made it on time to block what would have been the final blow, promising Gray that he would finish the fight.

"Natsu!" Happy yelled, seeing his best friend writhing on the ground in pain. A cloud of darkness surrounded him, killing all that was alive in its immediate surroundings. The trees had grown bare, flowers dried and grass beneath turning to nothing but dust.

The Exceed made a move towards Natsu but found that he could not move; a hand grabbing the nape of his neck.

"It's not safe," Lucy warned, a look of pure and utter fear drenching her face. She had grown pale at the sight before her as she witnessed what was happening to her comrade.

Natsu howled in agony, leaning upwards as he grabbed his hair. To Lucy's horror, she saw that rather than being adorned with the Fairy Tail insignia, his right arm took the form of a long, deformed limb with claws for hands. He momentarily turned towards them, where Lucy noticed his hair grow dark and eyes turning to a sinister red. His teeth were no longer there, instead replaced with fangs.

"Natsu…" Happy breathed, crying.

It was at that moment that all fear had escaped Lucy. Before she knew it, she had started running forward, her legs moving her faster than she thought she could ever go. The Celestial Mage instinctively reached for her keys and placed them at her chest, not knowing exactly what she was doing. It was as if something else was controlling her but she felt this surge of power, guiding her to her next step.

A beam of light suddenly encased her; its magic surging throughout her body. The 12 keys were illuminating in a circle on her chest, as if marking themselves onto her chest. Lucy glanced upwards and outstretched her arms, calling forth the Celestial Spirits that were so precious to her.

"Guide me, my friends," she breathed as the silhouettes of each spirit presented themselves before her.

Lucy ran into the cloud of darkness; the light that encased her breaking through its walls. Natsu was just about fully transformed when she grabbed him and pulled him to her. The rays of light provided by her celestial spirits shone onto the both of them and Lucy gently placed her hand on the side of Natsu's face, turning him to her.

His eyes were red and although confronting, Lucy pushed through her fear. This wasn't Natsu.

She smiled.

And he paused; his eyes flickering to their normal chocolate.

Lucy placed her hand in his. For a moment, she thought he may push her away but when she felt his hand grip hers she knew it would be okay. It was at that moment, that Lucy's outfit began to change; a wave of immense power surging through her as her spirits called forth her ultimate form: The Celestial Spirit King Star Dress. Her skirt and top suddenly changed into blue and gold armour, adorned with the stars themselves.

Natsu, in his half human, half demon form, stood up and brought Lucy with him. The darkness continue to swirl within but the light that Lucy's magic provided had halted the process. He was in so much pain but he pushed through - she had risked herself to help him, he could not… would not throw that away.

They turned to face Zeref, who had been gaping at them in utter shock. It was the first time he was ever truly speechless, unable to figure out what to do. No one had ever managed to pass through his killing cloud unscathed… how was it that this little girl could?

With their hands firmly in each other's grips, Natsu and Lucy pointed towards the dark wizard.

"Magic Fusion, Unison Raid," they announced as their magic bellowed down from the skies. Beams of Celestial light, encased with the flames of the Fire Dragon came down in twelve columns, cutting the dark cloud that Zeref had been wielding. The columns had then come together as one, taking the form of a sword of luminosity which was pointed directly at Zeref. With one move, the sword had lunged forward, piercing the wizard in the heart.

Before he was engulfed in the flames that would finally end his miserable life, Zeref glanced at Natsu, smiled sadly and closed his eyes, "Thank you."

The sword disappeared as the light subsided and Zeref was no more.

Silence ensued as both Lucy and Natsu returned to their normal forms. The Celestial Spirit mage turned to him in excitement.

"We did it! We did it Natsu—"

She froze when the dragon slayer suddenly dropped to his knees. His head was slouched downwards; his shoulders limp. The boy who was once the loud and boisterous wizard, ready to take on the world to find his father and protect his friends… was quiet and still.

Lucy dropped next to him, grabbed his shoulders and shook him, hoping that it would bring him to reality, "Natsu… Natsu!"

Natsu's breathing was slow and calm as he slowly raised his head to face her. "Lucy," he breathed. It sounded as though even saying that single name was painful. She noticed small red sparks emitting from him; as if they were slowly chipping away at his body.

That was when she remembered.

"No," she burst out, her grip on his shoulders tightening. "No, no this is not happening!"

"Lucy…"

The tears began falling before Lucy even realised she was crying. She pulled Natsu into an embrace; her arms encasing him as she buried her face into his shoulder. "It's not true… it's not true," she cried.

Natsu brought his arms around her waist, unsure of where else to put them. He could feel the life being sucked out of him as the last 400 years had begun catching up to him. In the end, Zeref was right, the two could not live without each other.

In a way, Natsu knew all along.

He slowly pulled away from Lucy and gazed into her eyes, her beautiful eyes that had always engrossed him whenever he looked at her. And although she was crying, she had never been more beautiful.

Natsu was always reckless and irresponsible… whilst Lucy was well-mannered and smart.

Natsu was never good with words. Lucy was.

Natsu was the darkness… and Lucy had been the light.

He brought his hand up and nervously cupped her cheek. Lucy desperately grabbed onto it with her small, delicate hands and stared deeply into his eyes, unable to stop crying. He muffled out a small laugh… she had yelled at him so many times, yet here she was… actually caring for him. In the end, he finally managed to grow on her.

"Don't cry Lucy," he started but she only sniffled louder.

"Don't go," she whispered, resting her cheek into his palm.

Natsu had begun to turn transparent, the red sparks slowly taking over. "For the longest time… I thought that I needed to find Igneel," he breathed. "Who knew that you… that you would become the reward of my life."

Lucy closed her eyes, "No… you promised me that you wouldn't leave me again," she desperately whispered. "You promised me… please…"

A well of emotion stirred within the dragon slayer as his eyes grew watery. The only time Natsu ever cried was when Igneel died. It was a foreign emotion to him, crying, as he believed it to be a sign of weakness. Yet here he was, crying before the girl who had become so precious to him.

When Lucy saw Natsu cry, that was when she lost all control. A wave of grief consumed her to the very core and she began screaming for him. "Don't go like this Natsu, please don't go like this!"

Natsu was all but transparent, "Lucy…"

"I love you," she desperately cried out, holding onto his hand as tight as she could, hoping that that would stop him from disappearing. "I love you Natsu…"

Natsu gazed into her eyes sadly, "…Me too," he breathed out quietly. "I love you too.."

Their confession to each other lead to a silent state of sadness, where they simply gazed at each other. Natsu smiled at Lucy, hoping that he would get at least one smile from her before he disappeared.

"NATSUUUU!" Happy bellowed, flying towards and into his best friend; his eyes also welled up in tears. "You can't go Natsu, you can't go!"

The fire wizard turned towards his best friend and pet him, "Thank you for everything, Happy."

Happy grabbed onto his arm, "Natsu…"

"Take care of Lucy for me."

Natsu gazed at his loved ones for a moment and he smiled, finally feeling that he was at peace. As he did, the red sparks encased him and he grew completely transparent.

He closed his eyes… and disappeared, becoming one with the ember flakes.

* * *

I know, it's really depressing HAHA but it's just an idea I had of how it could end. TBH I think it would be a really interesting ending to Fairy Tail if something like that happened but that's just me. Also, it's a basic idea of Lucy's ultimate star dress... hopefully the Spirit King Star Dress will be something that actually happens as well... that would be cool.

I know it's also really short and not fleshed out but... it's the best I could come up with in a couple of hours hahaha. I just wanted to get something done and posted.

Song that I listened to whilst writing it is called "And I'm Here" from the Goblin OST. It's really good, you should check it out. The story was inspired by a scene in Goblin. :) All characters belong to Hiro.


End file.
